« In contrast to most books on the history of astronomy, we have not chosen to present a global chronology, where all astronomical discoveries are presented in parallel. We have preferred to to consider the history of distinct themes in astronomy. », notes James Lequeux in the introduction. « Of course, there is repetition »,he continues, « but we believe that this makes the history easier to understand. »
Right from the start, the rules of the game are clear. No other text summarizes astronomy in such a simple and complete way. Pedagogy is the hall mark of James Lequeux.
With an overview from a professional career of almost 65 years, the author entrances the reader in this vast history. The work is divided into four main parts : the first is devoted to the determination of the positions of celestial bodies on the sky, to the measurement of time and to the determination of the size of the Earth. The second part concerns astrophysics, i.e. the determinatioin of the nature of celestial bodies. The third part involves cosmology, while the last part invites the reader to discover the largest astronomical observatories in the world. Each one of these sections is divided into thirteen themes, which can be read indepedently.
As supporting material for the text, the Éditions de Monza furnish a rich and exceptionally well presented iconography. The most recent illustrations have been garnered from the most recent work and discoveries, and are in contrast to older documents which come mainly from the collections of the Paris Observatory library (bibnum.obspm.fr), digitized within the framework of the PSLUniversity.
This work, made under the aegis of the Paris Observatory, is destined to become a classic on the history of astronomy.
